Give Carlos Ruiz $20,000 and a Vegas penthouse suite, he needs to score.

I know it may seem odd to post a “preview” (I hate posting true previews because they’re outdated in about 48 hours, maybe I should be like Laurie and just post the game guide) before I “review” the previous game. But I’ve grown tired of having posts in the bank and not putting them up because I was waiting for the right time only to have someone beat me to the punch. So I’m going to start posting faster and hopefully it won’t lead to a drop in quality.

Long-time readers know that I love breaking down specific plays and relating them to recent trends and themes that I’ve noticed and I want to go back to the 73rd minute breakaway by Carlos Ruiz because it’s quite emblematic of his season to date. Up 1-0 Carlos had a chance to put Colorado away late in the game as he “beat” the offside trap (I want to see a replay of that because he seemed way too open for that to be legal.) He went in 1v1 with Colorado ‘keeper Bouna Coundoul and came up short, and that’s what it’s been like for number 20 this season.

I’m a Carlos Ruiz fan, no doubt about it, I’ve made my feelings well known on the “Pescadito” but this season has been tough. His touch hasn’t been there – as evidenced by his lack of ability to finish on Saturday and his production has been sub-par (2 goals and 1 assist so far.) Right or wrong forwards are always going to be judged by how many goals they score and nothing else and so far in the 2007 campaign the “Pescadito” has just been off.

Ruiz’ best seasons have come when he’s been able to get about 4 shots a game (2002, 24 goals in 26 games.) But with the presence of Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas leading goal scorer before Tyrone Marshall went all UFC on his leg,) the emergence of Juan Toja and the “style” of play of Ramon Nunez, Carlos has seen his chances dip considerably (less than 2 shots a game.) On one hand that’s far too few opportunities to score; he’s Carlos Ruiz, the best player on the field even when Juan Toja is on. But on the other hand he’s doing nothing with the chances he’s been given. A bad game here or there is understandable and no one is going to take all their chances: goalies make saves and the woodwork says “hello.” But for all he contributes off the score sheet, he needs to do more to get on it. Because this is Dallas, where the FC may stand for “Forever Carlos,” but it also stands for “fielding contenders.”

HOOPS PRIDE!

Category: Game Analysis

Tags: Carlos Ruiz, Game Analysis

Subscribe   The Offside RSS Feeds

Print

Share